Quasars are energetic objects that are powered by hungry, massive black holes. They can shine brighter than trillions of stars. Now, scientists may have solved a mystery by discovering that quasars are formed when galaxies collide and merge.
Their findings mean that our Milky Way galaxy could have a quasar of its own when it collides with the neighbouring Andromeda galaxy, several billion years from now.
Since their discovery 60 years ago, quasars have puzzled scientists, mainly because they can't see how the giant black holes can draw in enough gas to fuel themselves.
But now, scientists can use deep-space images from the Isaac Newton Telescope in Spain's Canary Islands, and this has helped them to solve this puzzle.
